Sonic Free Riders looked like one of the most promising Kinect launch titles. It's got everything to make full use of Kinect: a "Back to the Future" hoverboard, fun characters from the Sonic series, the possibility to jump, duck and dive, race against time or other opponents, and all of that...

We've seen a number of ‘extreme' racing games released over the years on a variety of platforms featuring SEGA's inimitable blue mascot, Sonic T. Hedgehog, most probably in an effort to try and provide a super-powered alternative to Nintendo's mascot-imbued Mario Kart series of racing games.

Sonic is back. For better or worse.

Why is SEGA endlessly obsessed with putting Sonic on hoverboards The whole point of him is he can run really fast anyway. It's like Superman getting into hang gliding. And yet, here we have another game nobody asked for in the shape of Sonic Free Riders.

Sonic Free Riders makes one thing clear from the second it loads up: this is not the Sonic the Hedgehog of yesteryear but instead the o...

Unique Kinect gameplay; Upgradeable boards; Changes in gameplay mechanics

Unreliable controls; Difficult online infrastructure; Lack of content

Imagine a game in which the mundane actions you perform in real life are replicated to an exaggerated degree in the digital realm. A modest hop in your living room results in your in-game character soaring into the virtual stratosphere, and a slight flick of your wrist allows you to fling a missile...

Good track design with lots of hidden shortcuts; Upgradable equipment gives you something to strive for

Awful controls taint every potentially good aspect

While games like Dance Central and Your Shape: Fitness Evolved are rewarding me for spending CDN$150+ taxes on Kinect, SEGA had to disappoint me once again with yet another Sonic game.

We don't mind admitting that of all the early Kinect games, Sonic Free Riders was among those that we wanted to work the most. Conceptually, the device and game are a good match, with the former offering gamers the chance to mimic controlling an actual hoverboard and the latter providing a sense of...

Sonic Free Riders uses Microsoft's Kinect technology to place you in the Sonic universe as you zip around a limited number of courses – or at least try to. Spotty body detection turns what could have been a unique racing experience into a wreck.

Missing that key ingredient. Being one of the first titles for a new technology can […]

+ Great track design; + Plethora of content

Motion controls feel off; Clunky menu system; Terrible voice acting